Your
Alumni Association is on the move, and we need your help!
You are invited to the first-ever University of Memphis Alumni
Association Vision Forum. This is your chance to provide input
on programs, benefits and opportunities you would like to
see the Alumni Association provide. Read on to see how you
can be a part of this historic event.

Would you like to help shape the future of your Alumni Association?
If so, please plan to attend the University of Memphis
Alumni Association Vision Forum on Saturday, March 27.
On tap will be a best practices presentation, focus group
discussions and best of all, a complimentary continental breakfast
and lunch with fellow alumni who share your pride in the blue
and gray. Also joining our alumni will be President Shirley
Raines, faculty, staff and current students.

This
forum will help create a new direction for the U of M Alumni
Association, and we are bringing in a nationally recognized
alumni consultant who will share alumni studies from other
universities, benchmarking excellence and best practices.
However, we need more than his expertise. We need you. Your
support and input into the decision-making process will be
invaluable.

The
forum will take place from from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at
the FedEx Institute of Technology on the U of M campus. If
you can join us all day or part of the day, please RSVP by
March 25 at acanders@memphis.edu or by calling 901/678-5314.

Thank
you for showing your school spirit by participating in the
Alumni Association Vision Forum!

A
study from The University of Memphis Sparks Bureau of Business
and Economic Research supports a move for Tiger Basketball
from the Pyramid to the FedEx Forum. The report notes that
having Tiger Basketball in the FedEx Forum would generate
$3.3 million annually in new tourism spending and $4.2 million
in downtown spending from local residents. Most of the increase
in spending would result from the proximity of the Forum to
Beale Street and downtown hotels and entertainment venues.
The study also notes that the Conference-USA Tournament scheduled
for next March will have an $8.5 million positive economic
impact on Memphis and Shelby County.

Move
Will Save Taxpayers $800,000 Annually

A
presentation given to the County Commission and the City Council
shows that a University of Memphis move to the FedEx Forum
will save Memphis and Shelby County tax dollars. The cost
to maintain the Pyramid as a U of M basketball facility is
estimated by city and county officials to result in a net
operating loss of $1.3 million. If the building is not maintained
for basketball, the operating loss is $500,000, for a net
savings to taxpayers of $800,000.

Please
call your County Commissioners at 901-545-4301 and City Council
members at 901-576-6786 in support of the Tigers' move to
the FedEx Forum.

If
you have any questions or comments about this information,
please contact Todd Richardson at rrichar@memphis.edu.

Hear Nobel Peace Prize Winner F.W.
de Klerk March 30 at the U of M

Former South African President F.W. de Klerk initiated
sweeping transformations across his country when he released
political prisoner Nelson Mandela, lifted racially biased
bans, arranged for a redrafted constitution and organized
the first ever all-race election. This courageous leader will
speak about the importance of education and health care in
the pursuit of worldwide peace at a luncheon held in his honor
on March 30. The luncheon will be held at the University Holiday
Inn Ballroom from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m, and tickets are $30
per person.

De
Klerk's visit is part of Techsposium, an international conference
on improving health and education through information technology.
For more information on the luncheon and on Techsposium or
to order your tickets today, please visit http://www.memphis.edu/techsposium
or call 901/678-1618.

Get a Taste of Some Hot Topics at
"Great Conversations"

What
do pandas, homeland security, Provence and alternative medicine
have in common? They will be four of the 28 topics of this year's
"Great Conversations" event sponsored by the
College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board. This year's edition
of the popular dinner event will be held April 22 at the University
of Memphis Holiday Inn.

At
"Great Conversations," individual faculty from a
wide variety of disciplines host their own tables, each table
focusing on a discussion topic related to that faculty member's
research. For a full list of this year's topics and more information
on the event, please visit http://cas.memphis.edu/conversations/.

RSVP
by April 16 at the Web site above or by calling 901/678-1618.
Seats at each topic table are reserved on a first-come, first-served
basis, so reserve your spot soon!

It's a Winner!

The
University of Memphis E-Newsletter recently won a Special Merit
Award for Electronic Newsletters and Tabloids in the Council
for Advancement and Support of Higher Education (CASE) District
III awards competition.

CASE
District III includes institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
and Virginia.